Can opener



July 6 1926. 1,591,700

J. E. DEKKER CAN OPENER Filed March 21, 1925 Patented July 6, 1926.

JOHN ErDEKKER, OF CHICAGO, ILIIINOiS;

01th ormiim.

This invention relates tb iiiip vmentjs in can 'opeiiers and iii the method of making the szime i'md it consists of the matters hereinztfter described and more pmftic iihirly poih'tecl otit in the a pended cleims.

Tn e'an openers" ofthe kihd employing a rotary shearing element or cutter 'mou'nted one giiidrod or" siipport which ineltides a cin hezi'ld' piercing tiff) at ohe'ehd amide halidle it the other end, efheieiicy requires the h-( fdeh'ihp; of saidguide rod and tip after they have been formed to the desired shape.- This harderiing is impractical iIi, cutter guides embedyiiig an integral piercing tip as heretofdre' mtide because in the heating of the sm le, during the hardenihgprocess, the tib by'reasdn of its heinfgi of st diameter less thm the guide; reached the proper heat first. If the heetin titms disco iit-ihued iit this point, the gtiide was still relatively soft and the resiilt would be it hai'd p'ier'eing tipend a l'eletively soft guide; If the heat tfeet nient W'als' eoiitimi'ed to bfing the ghideup to the properh eat, the tip beceme over heated s6 thtlt it was impossible totiirn out ail artiele with the guide and tip of the same hai'd ness. 7

The main objectjo fthe ptesen't invention is to so eqiistruet a ea'iitdpener of the kind deseribedthzithdththe shear guide and the pierein'g tip my be made of' a uI'iifoI-Iii hat'dness. s i t A further object of the inven'tioii is to so make the 'g'tiide and" tip, that the tip which limits the movem'e'ht of the sheer oietitter in one diiec-tioii on the giiitien'iay begremoved therefrbiri Withoutthe aid of a'tool of any kind to p'ermitth'e reversal of the cutter fidm th'etijo 'enHinstead of freih the handle 'eii'd; which reversal-is especiauy desired in, cutters employing Iiib'i'e than diie cuttr disc.

My ihv'ention fui'th'ei" consists in a device of the form, aii'dhgement; eohstru'etibn and cooperation of thepa'i'ts', as well as the various stebs in prodiieingthe same, Wh'ei-eby the abave mentioned ohjectstogether With others as will hereinafter appear are att inab1e'; n d' my inventioil will be more readily understood by refre'nce to"the eteoo mpa'iiyifig' drawings wh'ieh ilhistizit? What I consider at the" presefit time '60 be the" best embodiment thereof.

In said" drawings? H N Fig, 1 is a view in sideele'vation 015a ceir opener made in eceordzin'ce With my inven tion.

FigilQ'i'sl an nlarged; tifeivpa'i'tl'y iii elfeva tion and p'artly in section of the'eanfpiercing tip'end of the opener as afi emswhefi bei g used for its intefided" pi ifpbs'el' Fig. 3 is a tmfisvei'se]setiofithrotigh the uide memhei', with the eutte'i" elemefit shown in end eIeV'atiOmthe'pIahe ofthe sec;- tion being'indicated by thelirie 3 3-01 Fig. 1.

The invention is 'heiein' shbw'n en'ttwil'l be herein described aS' being emhodieci' iii can opener ofthe type sho'tvn' in ppior Pttent No. 1,527,581 Qfanttt t6 me 'on Feb: 24, 1925. However, I'd'o not wish" to he limited'to this articulirty e o'f Cali 0 5mm because I have mentioned the same by way of illustration only and riotb'ywayoi 'lim'i tation, it being apparent thalt the iflverit itiii both as to the 'specific' stfiietti're of'the guide ztndtip, as Well as the method of 'arbdiicii'ig the same, maybe embodiedifi other typesof can opel'iers, where it's'pcu'litr' ehtrecteiis' ties make it advantageous to do so:

The device a's herein shot'vh camprises our parts or elements, namely; a sheet guide or sheft portion hfl 2 Cali head ire i ggr tip 2 on one end thereof; a hfindl'e 3: on the other elitilthereof, and a c'iittef of sheet element 4 loosely mouiited'on the giiide 0% shift andeabstble' of a i'ot'atii 'e als'well' as a lorigitiiclinai movement thereon'het'weefi hm itsdefinedhy said tip 'andvhahdle respee: tively. i

The shear guide" or shaft is-m'aae in the form of a eylindriijziliod of the' des'i'red length and. brefei'ably of 51 steel whiehwill readily permit certain machine oper'zttioiis. One end of said rod is tut'ri'd down to pro- 05 ide a, reduced extension awhichg is thereafter exteriorly threaded as shown in Fig. 2, thus forming 'a radial shoulder 6 on said guide at the inner end of said extension.

In making up the tip 2, I prefer to use a stock of a diameter somewhat greater than that of the rod 1. I find that a tip stock of 10/82 inches diameter and a guide stock of 9/ 32 inches diameter are about the proper proportions. I turn down the tip stock from a body portion 7 to form an extension 8 of a diameter equaling that of the rod and a piercing tip portion 9 of a diameter somewhat less than said guide. The extreme end of the piercing tip is tapered or pointed as best shown in Fig. 2. It is to be here noted that the tip has longitudinally rounded sides as indicated at 10 and as distinguished from flat tapered sides. These rounded tapered sides better permit the heat treatment in hardening and stands up better in actual use than does the other tapered point before referred to. because it contains more actual stock. After the tip has thus been made, a. threaded recess 11 adapted to receive the extension 5 of the guide or shaft 1. is made in the body portion 7 of the tip 2. The portion 9 of the tip stock is then bent or otherwise formed so that the pointed end portion is offset into a plane parallel with but spaced from the axial plane of the body 7. Thus the portions 8 and 10 are connected by a reverse curved portion 12 as best shown in Fig. 2. By means of this construction; a'ttcr piercing a can head with the point 10, the opener as a whole may be readily swung about the portion 12 so as to bring it from the initial piercing position to the operating position on a can. This reverse curve portion forms the axis about which the can opener is moved when operating upon a can and. limits the size of the opening formed in the can head so that the tip cannot be ripped or pulled out in actual use.

After forming the guide 1 and tip 2 as above described they are hardened. As the hardening process includes a heat treatment, a number of the guide'portions are treated at one time and a number of tips are treated at another time. In this way uniformity is attained in the hardening of said part-s. After hardening the parts are finished either by polishing or plating or both and are ready for assembly with respect to the handle and cutter element.

That end of a guide or shaft, opposite the extension 5 is forced into an opening in one end of a handle member 3 which is preferably made of wood and has the usual ferrule 13 thereon. Before applying the tip I apply a cutter element 4.- upon the guide from the extension end and a tip 2 is then applied by screwing the body end upon said extension as shown in Fig. 2, the end of said body portion abutting the shoulder 6 on the guide. The body portion 7 which is knurled as shown in Fig. 1 for convenient manipulation and also for appearance. provides one stop for the cutter element upon the guide while the handle 3 provides the outer stop.

Preferably I employ a cutter element of the kind as shown in my prior patent before referred to, which cutter element comprises two spaced cutter discs 14 mounted on hub 15 having an opening 16 therein of a diameter much larger than the guide, as best shown in Fig. 3. Said cutter disc has peripheral cutting edges and is adapted to straddle the bead 17 of a can 18 with the hub riding on the can head as best shown in Fig. 2, with one disc on the inside of the bead and operating as a cutting elementin conjunction with the inner surface of the can head and with the other flange engaging the outside of the head for guiding engagement therewith. the hub limiting the cutting edge of the active disc to but slight projection below the cover or head 19 of the can to be opened.

Should the active cutting disc become dull or worn through repeated use, the tip is removed and the cutter element then removed from the guide and reversed end for end and. then replaced on the guide or rod after ,which the tip is replaced; thus the former guide disc becomes the active cutting disc and the former active cutting disc becomes the guide disc. As the cutter is made of accurately machined tool steel they last indefinitely but should it be desired to reverse the cutter it is only necessary to pierce a can end and swing the guide into the posi tion shown in Fig. 2 and turn the handle to unscrew the handle from the tip, which is held against turning with respect to the handle while in the can as is apparent.

The many advantages of the improved can opener as well as the method in which it is made will be apparent to those familiar with the art. In describing my invention I have referred in detail to many details of construction as well as steps in the manner of producing the same but the same is for purpose of illustration only, so that I do not wish to be limited thereto except as may be pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A can opener embodying therein, a metallic guide member. a handle mounted on one end of said member, said guide member having a reduced and threaded extension at its. opposite end, a can head piercing tip pointed at one end and having a threaded recess at its other end to receive said extension of the guide member, and a cutter element mounted on. said guide member between said handle and tip member for both a rotative and a longitudinal movement.

2. A can opener embodying therein, a metallic guide member, a handle mounted on one end of said member. said guide member having a reduced and threaded extension at its opposite end, a can head piercing tip pointed at one end and having a body at its other end of a diameter greater than that of the guide member, said body of said tip having a threaded recess to receive said extension on the guide member, a cutter element on said guide and capable of both a rotative and a longitudinal movement thereon, the body of said tip member acting as a stop 10 to limit the longitudinal movement of said cutter element in one direction on said guide member.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 14th day of March, 1925.

JOHN E. DEKKER. 

